Police investigate possible links between 2 West Side shootings

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland police are investigating possible connection between two West Side shootings in which one man was shot before he crashed his car, and another man suffered a gunshot wound to the face.

The shootings reportedly began about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, about one half-mile apart on Clark Avenue on the border of Clark-Fulton, Detroit-Shoreway and Stockyards neighborhoods.

Alexis Parker, 27, was involved in one of the shootings but she hasn’t been charged in the shooting itself. She is charged with fourth-degree felony aggravated riot in a fight and shooting a week prior in the same neighborhood.

Police said officers were first called to the shooting at Clark Avenue and West 41st Street after a bystander saw the 29-year-old victim in a Honda Civic.

The car reportedly swerved as it traveled down West 41st Street near South Marginal Road and crashed into a street sign.

The victim reportedly asked the bystander not to call police, but she dialed 911 when she saw that he had been shot four times in his chest and upper arm.

The man reportedly told investigators that a robber approached his car and shot him, so he tried to drive to safety.

The report says officers later found a bag of suspected cocaine inside the Honda. A tipster reportedly told police that the victim had a history of bad blood with a known drug dealer.

At about the same time, police were reportedly called to the second shooting at West 56th Street and Clark Avenue where the 19-year-old victim said a man approached him and “next thing he remembers is that he’s at MetroHealth getting treated for a gunshot to the face.”

Parker and two men reportedly dropped the 19-year-old off at the hospital on Sunday night, then ran from MetroHealth police when ordered out of their car.

The two men reportedly got away, but Parker was arrested by a MetroHealth officer. Police have not announced charges in the Sunday night shootings.